Utopia

1516

Why is it canonical?

Thomas More, the author of Utopia, is one of the most famous statesman in English history, famously conflicting with Henry VIII over the creation of the Church of England (More was Catholic and opposed the Protestant Reformation) and ultimately dying by execution. More's Utopia, published by his friend and fellow humanist Desiderius Erasmus, was the beginning of a literary genre of utopian and dystopian fiction. In More's work, the title of which plays on the Greek 'ou-topos' (no place) and 'eu-topos' (good place), he describes a fictional world explored and narrated by Raphael Hythlodaeus. The world appears in stark relief to the Europe of More's day, featuring norms such as communal property ownerships, a simple legal system (thereby eliminating the need for lawyers), and equal education for men and women. Interestingly, More's Utopian allows for not only all religions, but encourages religion over atheism.